Fitness Journey

In the beginning I was a 206lb "flabalicious" fat guy rapidly approaching the big 3-0. So, how am I doing? Today, about seven months in, I weighed 166.6lbs. Over the holidays I went back up to 178 lbs, but now I am working on reaching my goal of 159 lbs, 7% body fat, and a Ninja Warrior ready body.

Is Barack Obama too thin to be trusted or related to by ordinary Americans? Do you choose who you will vote for based on their food and exercise choices? Would Wm. Howard Taft or Abraham Lincoln have a chance of being elected today in our image conscious world- the former would be too fat and the latter too tall and lanky. In a rather disappointing and humorous article the Wall Street Journal has fun pointing out the role food choices have played in presidential elections. One of my favorite stories from the article focuses around John Kerry at the Iowa State Fair. (more…)

The man to the right, Daniel Everette (33) of Michigan was arraigned “the other day for charges of child sexual abuse and using the Internet to attempt child sexual abuse.” [1]

Oddly enough, despite the fact that his shirt proclaims his love for both wrestling and his children, no one yet knows if he has any offspring of his own or if he actually watches WWE wrestling. Gosh, as if pro-wrestling didn’t have enough bad press in the last year already.

Somehow I doubt the WWE will be sending this guy free ringside tickets for getting their company logo into the public eye.

1. Cameras placed at stop signs in New York and Michigan showed that 82 and 72 percent of drivers, respectively, failed to come to a complete stop. Oh, and the cops didn’t either.

2. Stop signs are bad for the environment.

3. Getting rid of stop signs has been shown to save lives and lower the number of accidents.

4. Cops have a perverse incentive to get overtime pay by giving tickets at stop signs- and surprise, surprise, cops are not always honest. Stossel reports how one cop made $21,000 in overtime pay thanks to all the time he spent testifying in court. (more…)

After processing the news of Tony Snow’s passing I knew there was something I had to do. I had to pay a visit to the Daily Kos and see what the folks over there thought of the passing of this genuinely good and kind man who left behind a wife and three children. What I found what about as revolting as the time back in college when I accidentally took a swig from my roommates dip bottle- which was all to inconspicuously disguised as an ordinary Coke bottle and in very close proximity to my Coke bottle.

I will warn you that the comments are quite vulgar. I must also give props to those on the comment board who had the moral courage to condemn those spewing pointless vitriol- thank you all for standing up to a conmmon decency that knows no political bounds.

Why am I republishing these awful comments? I think that republishing these comments on this blog can lead to a teachable moment, a moment I will capitalize on next week in a post under the intellectual transformation series. [Note: All of the below quotes can be found at this thread on the Daily Kos]

“Tony knew that his boss was full of shit and that he was lying to the American people everyday. He gets no kudos for being a lying sack of shit. Yes its terrible for his young children, but it is also terrible for the young children of soldiers who keep getting killed because of the bullshit this lying sack of crap spewed everyday from his podeium. rest in hell.” -Rogereaton

One can have little doubt that what the poster (and countless other folks after him) considered “lies” were more likely than not points of political difference- instances where Tony Snow or those he represented drew different conclusions from the same facts. Yet, Mr. Eaton is more than happy to condemn Tony Snow to the darkest pits of hell because of their political disagreements. I guess we are lucky this guy isn’t actually in charge of who gets what final destination. Aside: For those of you looking for the proper application of the admonishments against judging others found in the New Testament, here you have a perfect example.

“I am a little baffled by the kind words for Mr. Snow on this blog today. Here was a man who could have used his talents to better the world, and he chose to do the complete opposite. I am not sure how he slept at night. My condolances (sic) to his family, but I can’t be sad that he’s gone.”- unionsally

While I am glad she expressed some concern over Tony Snow getting some rest- since we all know a good nights sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle- some might consider it a tres bit gauche to make sweeping moral claims about the dead. Perhaps we can all find some way to at least stay quiet if we can’t say anything nice about those recently departed.

“You were my favorite of the Bush administration’s apologistic (sic) panderers. You were a good spokesman for the side of evil and if not for your cancer, would have easily had a promising career in televangilism (sic) should you have chosen to pursue one.”- Juliewolf

The best that I can say is that perhaps this is an attempt at humor that took a disappointing turn. Note how she connects Tony Snow with “the side of evil” and suggests a possible career in televangelism- since we all know televangelists are horrible people right? All I want to know is whether Ms. Wolf was among those who decried President Bush when he called North Korea, Iran, and Iraq an “axis of evil.” (A statement I had problems with at the time, although no doubt for completely different reasons. Especially since I do believe that the North Korean governmental system is a clearly evil system.) (more…)

There I Said it! Now that you’re here, enjoy the rest of my blog. There is religious content (sure to infuriate the atheist-leftist branch of Paul’s followers) and even you aren’t sufficiently offender you could visit my other blog by clicking here.

BTW, just to throw the Ron Paul supporters who show up here a bone- I agree with much of what Paul has to say! However, I think he has ZERO chance of even winning the primary, much less the general election. Real elections aren’t like on-line straw polls. In real elections you only get to vote once AND you have to actually leave your house.

But, I must say, best of luck to Paul. We could use someone to show that the two party system isn’t invulnerable. However, in an age when the electorate is groomed to expect handouts from Republicans and Democrats alike- the only difference being on party promises a larger amount and to different groups- I don’t expect a small government strict constructionist like Paul to even come close to winning.

Now Perot, that guys was nuts, but he really had a chance to win the whole thing.